New twist to Nat Games in Goa

31 Jan 201905:21am IST

31 Jan 201905:21am IST

IOA Secretary General takes U-turn, says it will consider shifting the Games; May also impose penalty of Rs 10 crore

Team Herald

PANJIM: Uncertainty over the State hosting the National Games has arisen after the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) secretary general Rajeev Mehta took a U-turn soon after landing in New Delhi saying the association will consider shifting the Games out of the State if it does not show a commitment to hosting them.

On Monday, Mehta along with Mukesh Kumar chairman of the Games Technical Conduct Committee (GTCC) IOA during a meeting with Goa Olympic Association (GOA) members had stated that they had understood the problems leading to the postponement of the Games and that IOA was ready to extend its cooperation for organising the Games in the best manner possible.

Kumar, after meeting Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday had also said that the postponement of Games was considered after some issues of bypolls, Lok Sabha polls, school exams and so also unavailability of volunteers.

But Mehta, after his arrival in Delhi, said he was not happy and felt that the State lacked in commitment. He further said that IOA may impose a penalty of Rs 10 crore to Goa if it does not hold the Games as scheduled.

“We are not happy. It seems they (Goa) lack in commitment. We have already started discussions with the Chhattisgarh government whether they can host the Games this year. We will call a meeting of the IOA executive committee in the coming days to decide on this National Games issue,” Mehta told PTI on Tuesday.

“We will impose a penalty of Rs 10 crore on Goa. There is no escaping from that this time. They have been given enough time to host the Games. The repeated delays have been a loss for the athletes of the country,” he added.

After Goa hosts the 36th edition, which was earlier to be held in November last year, the IOA has already decided to allot the next editions to Chhattisgarh (2019), Uttarakhand (2020) and Meghalaya (2022).

The Goa government has proposed a new window of October-November but Mehta said the State will have to show commitment to host the Games.

“They have proposed postponement to October-November but what would be the guarantee that they (Goa) will host the Games. We are not simply going to agree with whatever they say. They have to show commitment to host the Games,” he reiterated.

“They cannot keep saying that they will host the Games and later give some reasons to postpone them. We came to know that the sports ministry has given Rs 100 crore for the hosting of the Games but we don’t know whether the sum has been used for the same purpose or not,” Mehta added.

The Goa government has cited by-elections to two assembly constituencies in February-March and the model code of conduct due to the upcoming general elections, lack of security personnel and the issue of inadequate volunteers due to school examinations as reasons for the postponement.

But IOA was not willing to buy these arguments as all these issues were known when the final decision to host the Games from March 30 to April 14 was taken in October last year.

Mehta said the October-November slot – when most of athletes end their season – is the most likely one for the Games. “We have to speak to all the national federations, see the international calendar and then take a call. October-November slot is the most likely one. But the IOA executive committee will take a call soon."

Kumar said the state government ‘still has a Plan B if IOA insists on hosting the Games as scheduled’. “They said the issues they have cited would be very difficult to overcome. But, they said there is still a ‘Plan B’,” said the former Judo Federation of India President.